copy of God's Word, the Scriptures tonight and turn to Exodus chapter 20, Exodus chapter 20 verse 16. We are in these evening services walking through a year-long catechism, which if you're unfamiliar with catechisms, they're really just question and answer ways of learning the main doctrines of Scripture. You can find this week's catechism printed for you on the back page of the bulletin for tonight. And it really is walking us through the Apostles' Creed, The 10 commandments and the Lord's prayer is a way of understanding doctrine throughout this year. And so we're towards the end of the 10 commandments and we find ourselves tonight in Exodus 20 verse 16, which is the ninth commandment. And so let's hear now the word of the living God. Exodus 20 verse 16, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Let's pray. Almighty God, now we ask that in this short time you would encourage the hearts of the saints, remind us of your holy and righteous law, as well as the glories of the gospel, wherein anyone who sees Christ for who He is and wants Him for their own Savior may have Him. And so we pray that with both law and gospel tonight, you would encourage us as your people. In Jesus' name, amen. If you had a chance to read the Catechism, you saw what the early Reformers did with the various Ten Commandments. That each of them really have prohibitions, but also prescriptions. Do this and don't do this. We saw this last week with stealing. Tonight we see it with truth-telling. On the surface, the Ninth Commandment says, do not lie. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor. But really, if we were to trace this commandment and any other through the pages of scripture, we would see that throughout all of the pages of scripture, God's moral law, God's law, which is an expression of God's character and nature is traced throughout. And we learn, both in this commandment and seeing it all throughout the pages of Scripture, that God, among other things, upholds truth. God upholds truth. If we were to just walk through the pages of the Bible, we could see from beginning to end this reality of God upholding truth. Genesis 1, God speaks creation into existence. His words, therefore, are to be trusted. Exodus 20, verse 16, God's people are to be a people of truth. Numbers 23, verse 19, God is not a man that he should lie. or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said and will not do it? Or has he spoken and will not fulfill it? We see the same thing in Titus 1.2 and Hebrews 6.18. God is pictured as the God who upholds and is truth. Proverbs 12, 22, lying and a lack of truth are an abomination to the Lord. John 7, 28, Jesus says that God is truth. He's not bound by truth. He doesn't just have truth. He's not just the most truthful being in the universe. He is truth. John 8.14, the Word of God says that Jesus' testimony is true. John 8.32, Jesus' followers are said to know the truth and be set free by it. So really, Exodus 20 and verse 16 is not the only place where truth and being truthful people are upheld. But in one way, Exodus 20, verse 16, the ninth commandment is one bookend. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. The other bookend, if you will, is on the last page of the Bible. Revelation 21.8 reads this way. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." So at the very beginning of the Bible, we see a God who speaks and whose words are true, and then He commands His people not to lie. And on the very last page of the Bible, With only a few verses left, we see that liars will receive the penalty of death. But there are many passages in the middle, aren't there? Turn to Mark chapter 14. Mark chapter 14. Kind of in the middle of those two bookends, if you will. Mark chapter 14. We see one of Jesus' closest followers, closest friends, In a moment of darkness, breaking God's very command. Mark 14 and verse 66. You remember that Jesus has been arrested. He's before the religious leaders, and we pick up the story in Mark 14 verse 66. Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, You also were with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied it, saying, I neither know nor understand what you are saying. And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed. And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, This is one of them. But he denied it again. And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it. Then he began to curse and swear, I do not know this man of whom you speak. A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind, The word that Jesus had said to him before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. And when he thought about it, he wept. God, the God of truth, who calls all things into existence, tells his people to be truth tellers. On the very last page of the Bible, we see unrepentant liars condemned to hell. But in the middle, we see some of the stalwarts of the church lying, One other place in the middle of these two bookends, John chapter 21. John 21 and verse 15. So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus, this is after His resurrection, this is after He appears to His disciples. Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, feed my lambs. And he said to him a second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my sheep. He said to him a third time, Simon son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. You know, among other things, what this tells us is that liars can be saved. You see, in the bookends of God who creates by his very word, who says that I am truth, who tells his people not to lie, and on the other extreme, liars who spend an eternity in hell because they are unrepentant in their law-breaking, in the middle of them, is one of the pillars of the church lying and being restored, all by the grace of God. So what lessons then? If we were to trace the ninth commandment, the idea of truth throughout the pages of the Bible, what lessons do we learn? Well, I think there are at least four. And we have gone through this commandment before as a church, but let's look at them from a slightly different angle. If we were to walk from bookend to bookend, what are the lessons? Well, number one, the gospel frees us to tell the truth. The gospel frees us to tell the truth. We could say this about a whole host of things. You know, we live in a world where oftentimes the best thing that you can do to be seen well by others is to lie, to hide, to not be honest. Because if people really knew who we were, or if they knew what we lacked, They wouldn't love us, they wouldn't accept us, they wouldn't take us in, they wouldn't give us love, they wouldn't give us what we want. But the gospel is radical because the gospel says the worst possible thing that could ever be said about you has already been said. That you are so despicable. that it took the bleeding Son of God, dying, arms spread wide, for six hours on a cruel cross to redeem you. And God in His love has done everything necessary to offer salvation, to accomplish it for you. So really, the cross, among other things, is a bold statement about how wretched we really are. So in one way, the gospel frees us to be honest about our failures and about our faults. But the gospel also frees us in that it gives us a power that we previously did not have. Colossians chapter 3. Turn there with me for just a moment. Colossians chapter 3. There the word of the Lord reads this way. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." See, we're not to lie to one another. Why is that? Because we're different than we were before Christ. We've put off the old nature with its practices, one of which is lying. See, the gospel frees us to be people of the truth. But secondly, as we walk from the beginning of the Bible, one book end to the other, with this theme of truth, we also see this. Secondly, the law upholds truth. The law upholds truth. Just as God's words are true, His image-bearers should abound in truth. Have you ever thought about the fact that we're commanded not to lie because God does not lie? We're commanded to be truth-tellers because God is truth. We could see this in a whole host of places between the two bookends. Matthew 5.37, Jesus The final interpreter of the law gives the law's intent. Let's turn to just that passage for a moment. Matthew 5 and 37. The Word of the Lord reads this, But let your yes be yes, and your no be no. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. Ecclesiastes 5, 5 and 6. We must keep our word. 1 Corinthians 13.6 True love rejoices with the truth. Proverbs 21.6 Lying is unprofitable in the end. Psalm 119.173 The psalmist hates falsehood but loves God's law which proclaims truth. Philippians 4.8 We are to be a people focused on truth. James 4.11, Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. You see, the law of God The moral law of God, the unchanging, abiding law of God, which reflects God's character, summarized for us in the Ten Commandments, taught on by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, upheld by Jesus in His life and in His death. This law is a law that says God's people need to be a people of truth because God does not lie. So number one, the Gospel frees us to tell the truth, to be people of truth. Number two, the law itself upholds truth. This is debated among different systems of theology, but I'll say it because I believe the Word of God reveals it. Jesus died on the cross for several reasons. He died on the cross because it was the will of the Father. He died on the cross because there was a people that the Father had given to Him to redeem. But Jesus also died on the cross to uphold the law of God. Many times people think, well, we can do away with the law because Jesus has died. What was it that Jesus kept in our places, beloved? God's holy and righteous law. And if you look at the face of Jesus, when, oh when, do you see Him lie? So the law upholds truth. But thirdly, True believers grow in the pursuit of truth. True believers grow in the pursuit of truth. Ephesians 4.25, Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. So this question then, as most of us are professing Christ tonight, I'm assuming, This question comes, is this where our mouths are? Do we have truth-telling mouths? Are we a people who build up? Or is our talk rotten? Talk that tears down? You see, truth-telling in Exodus 20.16 is pictured as bearing a witness which is not false." So how do we see this throughout the pages of the Bible? Well, we see it in the form of slander. Leviticus 19.16, you shall not go around as a slanderer among your people. Proverbs 11.13, whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered. Psalm 101.5, whoever slanders his neighbor secretly, I, God says, will destroy. Slander really is a form of breaking the ninth commandment. Gossip. Another one. Proverbs 18.8. The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels. They go down into the inner parts of the body. Proverbs 26.20. For the lack of wood, the fire goes out. And where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. It's like quarreling. Whispering is sort of like the firewood for the fire that is quarreling. Proverbs 16.28, A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. As a side note, to the church, very few things are as harmful as gossip, slander, and whispering. Titus 3.2 says, Speak evil of no one. 1 Timothy 5.13 addresses a specific body within the body of Christ. In this case, women. 1 Timothy 5.13 addresses women particularly and warns them against, yes, idleness, but against gossip and busybody-ness. And interestingly enough, gossip appears in Romans 1. If you ask the average Christian about Romans 1, they're going to say, oh, that's the passage that talks about how evil the world is because of sexual sins. Have you ever read all of Romans 1? There, right next to the sin of homosexuality is gossip, slander. And you see, this form of not being a people of truth is expressed in both the mouth and the ears. Here's what I mean. Proverbs 17.4, an evildoer listens to wicked lips. Did you catch that? An evildoer listens to wicked lips. We often would say the wicked lips, that's the sin. But here, it's the ears that listen to wicked lips. And a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue. The ninth commandment says, do not lie. And one of the many passages about lying, Proverbs 17, 4 says, lying is done when you listen to a mischievous tongue. Proverbs 20, verse 19. Here it's the tongue and not the ears. It says this, whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets. Therefore, do not associate with a simple babbler. So I hope you're seeing that from the beginning of the Bible to the end of the Bible, the ninth commandment is worked out in all sorts of ways. That God is a God of truth. His people are commanded to be a people of truth. We formerly were not people of truth. And those who don't tell the truth will suffer the wrath of God. It's on the last page of the Bible. So where does that leave us? Because who in this room hasn't lied? Who in this room hasn't slandered? Hasn't gossiped? Or at least given ear to the lies of others? Well, one other thing that we see between the bookends in our last lesson is this. Christ takes the penalty for our lies. Christ takes the penalty for our lies. Let's look again between the bookends. Malachi 3.5, Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely. against those who oppress the hired worker and his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts." I'm going to come in judgment. Malachi 3.5. One of the things that I'm going to come in judgment against is lying. But have you ever read Malachi 3.6? Turn there with me. Malachi 3.6. The Lord says in verse 5, I'm going to judge. I'm going to judge. I'm going to come in judgment against liars. But read the next verse. Malachi 3.6. For I am the Lord. I do not change. Therefore, you are not consumed. O sons of Jacob, I don't change. My word doesn't change. Therefore, because I am who I am, and I do not change, and I have made promises to you, you are not utterly consumed. 1 Timothy 1.10 reads this way, Now we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for sexually immoral, basically 1 Timothy 1.10 is basically listing off the Ten Commandments. For sexually immoral men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, there it is. The ungodly, the sinners, are those who lie. And whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted, the law points us to the sinfulness of lying. So in Malachi 3.5, we have God saying, I'm going to come in judgment against those who lie. In the New Testament, not the Old Testament, but the New Testament, God is pictured as one who lays down a law for the lawless and the disobedient. And who are they? Well, those who lie, among other things. So our very last bookend, Revelation 21.8, liars are seen in the lake of fire. Turn there with me to the very last page of the Bible. It's our bookend, isn't it? On one side, God creates by His very words. He is truth. And then in Exodus 20, in His law, He commands people to be people of truth. But on the very last few pages of the Bible, our final bookend, what do we see? Revelation 21.8, but the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake. which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." So what are we to do? What are you to do? This is you. This is me. This is our resume. Here it is for all the world to see. We are in this list. Some of us have been cowardly. Some of us have been unbelieving. Some of us have been murderers in word or in deed. Some of us have been sexually immoral. Some of us have been idolaters. Some of us have been liars. We are here. Here you are. And on the very second to last page of the Bible, the final bookend as it were, God is upholding God's law. What are we to do? Well, shortly before the Bible ends, on the literal last page of the Bible, we read this. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates in the city. Outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star. Verse 17. And the spirit and the bride say. And if you're reading the Bible for the first time and you're half aware and half awake of your own resume in the Bible, the liar, the sexually immoral, the murderer that you are in word or in deed or both, you should be thinking, here it comes. The curtain is about to fall. The wrath of God is going to consume me. But what word do you receive? Revelation 22, 17. Come. What is this? What is this, you say? For the wrath of God is about to fall, isn't it? The fire that burns for all of eternity is about to consume all liars. And what word did you say? Say it again that I may hear it. Come and let him who hears say come and let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Just when we were expecting the wrath of God to fall, on the last page of Holy Scripture, we see God, the Holy Spirit, and the Church of Jesus Christ, ushering a single message out into the world. Life. Eternal life. The water of eternal life, which if we were to trace this idea of water of life throughout the Bible, we'd see that the writer of Revelation is just quoting from Isaiah. That God says to any that have ears to hear, liars included, that he will receive them. He will take them in. Because When the Son of God died, the curtain of God's judgment fell. You see, we get to Revelation 22 verse 17, and it is not as if God has not poured out his wrath for liars. It's just that God has poured out his wrath. For liars, your lies and my lies on the person and work of Jesus Christ. As He hung there, God poured out His wrath. And the great wrath bearer, our Savior, fully God and fully man, took the wrath of God in our stead. So that the church of Jesus Christ today and the Spirit of God today, that's what the text says, the Spirit and the Bride say what? They say, come. Come to God, because God has borne all of God's wrath. Jesus, the perfect one, spread His arms wide, and your lies were punished on Him. However, if it's the first time we've heard this news that Christ takes the penalty for our lies, it's a good one. But if we were reading closely, It shouldn't surprise us. Because do you remember our bookends? God creates with his very word. He tells his people, do not lie. At the very end, God is seen as punishing lies. In the middle, who did we see as our case study? But Peter, the liar, who was subsequently restored after his lies. You see, what we didn't read was this, Luke 22. Because our case study, Peter, was given one other message. Luke 22, verse 31. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, that's Peter. Indeed, Satan has asked for you that he may sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail. And when you have returned to me, Strengthen your brethren. You know what this is about? In the middle of the bookends, the God of truth who says, don't lie, and the God who upholds his own law and punishes all liars, in the middle is giving us a case study, among other things, the person of Peter, who is a liar, but who was restored. And if we weren't reading closely as we walk through the pages, do you know what we see? Jesus says to this one, essentially, you're going to lie. But I'm holding you up. I've prayed for you. And when you return. I have work for you. You see, Exodus 20 verse 16, on the surface, seems like another rule. Just don't lie. But if we walk from bookend to bookend, we see that the truth is all over the place. God is a God who is truth. His people are to be a people who aren't liars. When His people don't tell the truth, a substitute is provided. So that when the curtain of God's wrath falls, it falls on Christ. And so on the very last page of the Bible, do you know what we hear, fellow liars? Come. You want the water of life? Come. But Lord, we're liars. And you have said that you will punish all liars. Come. But Lord, you have said that we will burn forever because we have lied. Come. But Lord, how can you come? And the only reason that the Lord is not a liar in telling you to come is because someone else hung in your place. You want to be a person of truth? Certainly repent of all lies, but look into the face of the Savior who never lies. and come. Let's pray. Lord God, we pray that we would be a people who see You for who You are as the God of truth. You are holy, holy, holy. You are sinless. Every time we look into Your Word, we see another way in which we have in our own strength, but unable to keep your holy and righteous law. But you continue to shower us with gospel truth, for you are truth. And Lord, when our conscience is, or when the enemy seeks to tell us that we cannot come, remind us again of Christ, the truth teller, who said judgment would come, yes, but who offers His own life and death and resurrection for any who will have Him. Lord, make of Your saints people who love this truth. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.